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Why Kevin O'Connell's success could be a road map for Thomas Brown's head coaching candidacy

Related Topics: Isiah Thomas, Kevin O'Connell

Ezra Shaw/Getty

Thomas Brown’s candidacy for the Bears’ coaching vacancy has a bigger problem than last week’s 25-point loss to the 49ers: his lack of experience.

The Bears’ interim head coach had not called plays at the NFL level until he joined the Panthers as their offensive coordinator last year. He called plays for just eight games because head coach Frank Reich handled the duties, gave them to Brown, took them back and then was fired during the season. That instability stunted the growth of rookie Bryce Young, who only recently has begun to resemble anything close to former No.